UNC Charlotte Wins the SIFE USA Regional Competition

Students to Compete in the SIFE Nationals in Minneapolis (May 10^th – 12^th)

The UNC Charlotte Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team won the SIFE USA regional competition on Monday, March 21^st. This is the eighth consecutive regional victory for the UNC Charlotte SIFE team!  The team has won the SIFE Regional Competition every year since it was launched in 2003.  Teams win based on the value of the community projects they conduct in order to help people in need by applying class knowledge and skills.

The 2011 competition was held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Concord, NC, and served as a preliminary competition for the SIFE Nationals. The UNC Charlotte SIFE team will attend the national competition in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 10^th through the 12^th to compete against more than 175 other university teams for the SIFE National Championship.

Rachel Williams, President of UNC Charlotte SIFE, said, "This was my fourth time attending Regionals; and every year, I become more excited about SIFE and prouder of my team! It really is a thrilling experience to present in front of actual business executives, and see the great projects other teams are implementing.  SIFE Regionals really are where you get 'SIFE'd'!" This year, our team's presentation theme was Seeds of Growth.  Our team grew in numbers, in outreach, and in the number of people we helped.  We are especially proud of our three new projects, which work with disadvantaged high school students, UNC Charlotte freshmen, battered women, and the Charlotte Green Initiative.

The members of our Competition Team are: 

·         Rachel Williams (Senior majoring in Marketing and Spanish from Sanford, NC)

·         Leena Alkahlout (Junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering from Nablue, Palestine)

·         Gerald Burgess (Junior majoring in International Business from Long Island, NY)

·         Charisma Romer (Sophomore in Pre-Business from Nassau, Bahamas)

·         Matt Murrow (Sophomore in Management and Marketing from Gastonia, NC)

·         Khalil Khouy (Junior majoring in Finance & Accounting from Casablanca, Morocco)

·         Mihir Sagar (Senior majoring in Economics and Finance from Dubai, UAE)  

Stay updated with UNC Charlotte SIFE’s progress on their website, and YouTube Channel:

·         belkcollegeofbusiness.uncc.edu/sife

·         youtube.com/UNCCharlotteSIFE

·         unccharlottesife.blogspot.com

·         facebook.com/sifeunccharlotte

Follow them on their journey to Minneapolis!

Dr. Kevin Toomb and Dr. Carol Swartz serve as Sam Walton Fellows and Faculty Advisors for the team.

About SIFE

Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills needed to become socially responsible business leaders.  There are approximately 1,500 active SIFE teams in about 40 different countries around the world.  All SIFE teams focus their projects on ‘relevant social, economic and environmental factors.’  The UNC Charlotte SIFE team’s vision is to Effectively Empower Others. This year, UNC Charlotte SIFE has contributed more than 3,474 hours to the community in hopes of making a positive difference and lasting impression.

          

Finding Help in all the Right Places!!!

Every now and then you will meet someone that just seems to have it all figured out. Well I've met one of those people. Last night myself(VP of Marketing), Brian Skerry(President), Khaled Dais(VP of Ops), and Brittany Black(VP of HR) all had a 3 hour meeting with one of our BAB members, Wes Nguyen. We were meeting with Wes to discuss some of our team's issues and how to solve them. Some of the topics we covered were pertaining to member recruitment, member retention, project development, project management, the branding of SIFE, and corporate sponsorship/partnership. 

Wes knows a lot about a wide variety of topics but his specialty is in marketing and branding. He is currently CMO of a startup company called Privacy Data Systems, they specialize in cloud computing. Wes told us tons about the company and it was very impressive.

After the conversation with Wes I really feel that we(as an exec board) have a really nice grasp on what needs to be accomplished and how to do it. I won't share specific details but lets just say that he has opened our eyes on how to take SIFE to that next level.

I honestly believe we can reach 100 members next semester. Using some of the tactics that we discussed  I feel not only competent but extremely confident at the task ahead. I am currently stoked for the SOAR sessions. I really can't wait to see how many students from across the disciplines we can attract. The future in SIFE is brighter than it has ever been.

Its always a plus to have people who I consider "genius" within arms reach. Its people like Wes, our faculty advisers and students that make SIFE what it is.

LIFE is good, SIFE is great!!!!

Oh, and GO NINERS!!!

-Matt
2011-2012 VP of Marketing

Project Press Release- The Sam's Club Environmental Sustainability Challenge

The UNC Charlotte SIFE Team Works with a Local Restaurant and Sam’s Club to Reduce Waste, Water and Electrical Usage

The Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team at UNC Charlotte is working with a local restaurant, Casablanca Café, to make the restaurant more environmentally friendly. The project is funded by a $1,000 grant from the Sam’s Club Environmental Sustainability Challenge.

SIFE teams from around the nation applied for the Sam’s Club Environmental Sustainability Challenge. The applications were submitted last October; the grants were awarded on December 3rd; and the projects are designed to be completed by March 4th. UNC Charlotte partnered with a Moroccan restaurant, Casablanca Café, located at 9609 North Tryon Street.

“Sam’s Club has enabled us (SIFE) to make a substantial difference in the consumption of resources by the Casablanca Café” said Khalil Khouy, our Sam’s Club ESC project leader. Khouy continued, “We have been given this unique opportunity to improve the environment around us through engaged community service.”

The local Sam’s Club Associate Manager, Youssef Boutaleb, stated that “Sam’s Club is dedicated to working with the UNC Charlotte SIFE team to enhance the environment and our local businesses alike. Khalil has stepped-up and effectively managed this project, which improves our local community.”

Khouy and his project team decided to install low flow water valves in the kitchen, sensory LED lights in the bathroom, motion-driven paper towel dispensers, motion-driven faucets, toilet paper dispensers/holders, and recycling bins. The motion-driven faucets will reduce water usage in the kitchen by 40% per day, states the manufacturer. The LED lights are 75% more electrically efficient than normal light bulbs.

In order to promote green transportation, a 10% discount is being offered by the owner for those individuals who ride bikes to the restaurant. A bike rack that holds six is also being installed by our SIFE team.

UNC Charlotte SIFE arranged a partnership with Republic Services to deliver the restaurant’s garbage and waste for recycling at FCR in Charlotte. The restaurant’s owner, Sam Roussi, agreed to extend his vegetarian menu and purchase 100% fully organic dishes.

SIFE Profile
Students in Free Enterprise is an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills needed to become socially responsible business leaders. There are approximately 1,500 active SIFE teams in about 40 different countries around the world. The UNC Charlotte SIFE team’s mission is to continuously inspire students of all ages to impact the community through projects based on free enterprise that promote literacy and leadership.

All work and no play? That's no fun...

College is time for exploration. It is a time where passion is found and a place where resources are plentiful to help you create a lasting lifestyle around that passion. Lately, like most students, classes have been repetitive and do not intrigue me to extent that I hoped for. I love my major, but it does not allow me to explore in a real world setting. It is strictly all work to much of the time. Too much studying, too much test taking, too much worrying about grades rather than worrying about how to apply what you learn in the real world. How am I supposed to explore my passions being lectured too and sitting in front of a computer? Yes, academics are a big part of your future success, but all work and no play during college is not a fun lifestyle in my opinion.

SIFE has been an outlet for me to not only apply what I learn in the classroom to the real world, but also to learn and apply new concepts that I would have never learned through a typical class setting. SIFE has been my playground for success and failure without the risk. Think about it... Why not learn your capabilities and weaknesses through real world action as opposed to graduating and entering the world with no idea what you are good at? You may have taken plenty of tests in school, but you never passed the one test that actual matters: testing your boundaries and pushing your own limits. SIFE offered me the chance to play and grow both personally and professionally all while continuing my academics. SIFE actual has given new meaning to what I am studying, now that I have actually taken part in the action and enjoyed it.

Continue to explore until you can use your passion as a career. Once you find out how to do this, the line dividing work and play will no longer be there. As Richard Branson says "I don't think of work as work and play as play. It's all living."


BPS

          

SIFE For LIFE!!! (Opening Post)

I've been in SIFE for about about a year and half now and I must say that it is the best thing I have done in my life to date. There are often defining moments in a person's life which either empower or cripple him/her. For me that defining moment has occurred somewhere in my time with SIFE.

As I wrap up this 2010-2011 school year I have high ambitions for the future. As SIFE's Vice President of Marketing I am looking for new ways to engage the UNC Charlotte student body and tell them about the amazing things we are doing. This year alone we have started around a half a dozen new projects, added a ton of positions, and impacted the community tremendously. We have done everything from help women at a local battered women's shelter, taught high school students success skills, and  loaned money to entrepreneurs in 3rd world countries among others. SIFE has stretched our resources and flexed our entrepreneurial skills by winning over $30,000 for unique projects that will make the campus more environmentally friendly.

SIFE this year has more than doubled in it's numbers. Last year our membership was around 25-30 students and this year we are at about 55 students with more joining every week. Simply put, SIFE is where its at!!!!

As a leader on campus, I've been in a number of different student organizations including the Student Alumni Ambassadors, Emerging Leaders, Resident Students Association, Student Media, Niner Nation Gold and a few others. After experiencing SIFE there is nothing else that compares. Our organizational and communication skills are far beyond those of students in other organizations. Our faculty advisors are amazing!!! After getting feedback and help from Dr Swartz  you will wish she was the advisor for every other student organization you're in. I've found myself disappointed on many occasions because I have held other advisors to the same standards as Dr Swartz.

Not only is our SIFE team making a huge difference in the lives of those in our community(both on and off campus) but we are also reaping the rewards of our hard work. There are countless SIFE students that have won internships as a result of their experience in SIFE. Bank of America is one of our biggest recruiters and I can currently think of at least 3 or 4 people that have full time jobs at BoA upon graduation at the end of this semester. SIFE opens up doors like no other student organization does, and you can hold my word to that.

If you're reading this I urge you to see what our SIFE team has to offer. In the upcoming year we will be doing things on campus that other student organizations can only dream of. SIFE is my LIFE and I'm glad to say that.

-Matthew Murrow
2011-2012 VP of Marketing
2010-2011 Success for Teens Project Co-Leader
2010-2011 Competition Team Member